ICFs generally comprise two walls or slabs of foam (usually expanded polystyrene foam (“EPS”)) held apart a defined distance by a series of ties. An ICF is used to construct a one-piece, monolithic concrete wall with reinforced concrete posts and beams. The ICF remains in place and provides an energy efficient concrete wall that can be finished with conventional interior and exterior wall coverings. The ties serve to space the two foam walls of the ICF a uniform distance apart and to prevent the walls of the ICF from spreading as the hydraulic pressure of the wet concrete fills the form. A conventional ICF with conventional ties is shown in FIGS. 1-3.
The conventional ICF 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3 consists of two walls 12 and a plurality of ties 14. Each tie 14 is comprised of crosstie elements 16 and reinforcing elements 18. The ties 14 shown in FIGS. 1-3 hold the walls 12 in place as concrete 5 is poured into the ICF 10. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the ties 14 may have a furring strip 15 connected to, and extending along each side of, the crosstie elements 16 of the tie 14. Each furring strip 15 generally consists of a solid sheet of plastic or metal. The furring strips 15 give greater resistance to wall separation during concrete 5 pouring and also serve as anchor strips into which screws or other fasteners may be inserted to hold finish materials such as drywall or siding to the outside of the form walls 12.
The prior art ties 14 are made either of injection molded plastic or formed or welded wire and sheet metal. As shown in FIG. 2, the prior art ties 14 are bent into a conventional U-shaped configuration before the ties are molded into the foam block walls 12 of the ICF 15. The ties 14 are bent into the conventional U-shaped, or an H-shaped configuration, either at the time they are made or in a subsequent forming operation.
These conventional U-shaped and H-shaped configurations are designed to meet criteria related to the function of the ICF. The conventional U-shaped and H-shaped ties do not, however, result in efficient shipping configurations. Particularly, the conventional U-shaped and H-shaped ties tend to fill up the available cubic volume in a transport vehicle long before the weight limit of that vehicle is reached. This increases freight, warehousing, and handling costs of the conventional U-shaped and H-shaped ties, as well as scrap due to damage, between the point where the ties are made and the point where the ties are molded into the ICF.
One attempted method to solve the problem outlined above is shipping and handling the ties in a flat configuration before the ties are formed into the conventional U-shaped or H-shaped configuration. The flat ties are then formed into the conventional U-shaped or H-shaped configuration at the EPS molding site or at a nearby third party. Difficulties are encountered with shipping ties in a flat configuration because EPS molders typically do not have forming or die bending experience (resulting in inefficient operations and high waste), and the use of third party benders increases the length of the supply chain resulting in more work in progress inventory, increased handling costs, and lack of single point responsibility for quality control.